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Carte de séjour: The online process for post-Brexit residency cards in France

The Local France
The Local France - [email protected]
Carte de séjour: The online process for post-Brexit residency cards in France
Photo: AFP

Thanks to Brexit, British people in France need to apply for residency cards if you wish to continue to live in France. Here's what we know about the new online portal which goes live on Monday.

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Under the terms of the Brexit deal, all Britons in France will have to apply for special residency permits that will specifically state they are protected by the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement.

Brits have until December 31st, 2020 to become legally resident in France and then will have until July 1st 2021 to make the application, and until October 1st 2021 to have the card.

 

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France announced back in January that it would be creating a new online process for British people to make their applications. Originally scheduled to go live in July, this has now been pushed back to October 19th.
 
The site is now live - you can access it  HERE - and read our guide to how it works HERE.

"British citizens residing in France will be issued specific residence permits 'United Kingdom’s withdrawal agreement from the EU' for which they will have to apply before July 1st, 2021," reads the message from the French government.

The deadline is for you to have got your application in, not for you to have received the card.

Everyone currently resident in France, and those who become resident before December 31st, needs to use the site. People who already have a carte de séjour permanent can use the site to swap it for the new card, everyone else has to make a new application.

The exception to this is British people who have dual nationality with an EU country.

READ ALSO 'It's really simple' British ambassador urges Brits not to delay applying for residency 

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Early previews of the site reveal a simplified process with much less supporting paperwork than was required by the préfectures for residency applications.

Kalba Meadows from citizens' rights group France Rights said: "Although there’s still plenty of detail to come - we await the decree, for example - the news so far is good.

"We’re delighted to say that the French government has taken into account many of the concerns we’ve been raising over the last three years and the new system will be much simpler for many of you, especially for those who've lived in France for more than five years.

"The Ministry has asked us to reassure everyone that the key to the new system is simplicity and flexibility."

The site is available in English and has a guide for the paperwork needed for each type of application (employed, self-employed, student, retired etc).

Everyone in France submits their application on the online portal and the application is then passed to the local préfecture for processing. Once the application has been processed, applicants are then invited to their local préfecture to supply fingerprints and ID and the card is then posted out.

The cards are free - earlier information on a €119 charge related only to a no-deal Brexit scenario. 

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There are still some details to be clarified, especially around exactly what documents will be accepted as proof of residency, income etc, but here is what we know so far;

If you already have a carte de séjour permanent (10 years) - you still need to use the new portal if you have lived in France for more than five years and you already obtained a carte de séjour permanent under the old system, but in your case it is a fairly simple process of swapping your old card for a new one. You will need to upload your old card to the system and also provide ID (a passport).

If you have lived in France for more than 5 years but don't have a carte de séjour permenant - if you have lived in France for more than five years but don't have a current card (and expired cartes de séjour cannot be exchanged) or only have the short-term five-year card then you need to use the online portal to make a new application, but the burden of proof is lower for you than for more recent arrivals.

You won't need to provide detailed financial information, just proof that you have been settled in France for five years or more and are still resident here - for example through rental contracts or work contracts. If your application is successful you will be given a carte de séjour permenant.

If you have lived in France for less than 5 years - more recent arrivals, whether they have a carte de séjour or not, will need to provide more proof that they meet the criteria for residency.

You apply as one of the following criteria; employee, self-employed, student, retired or otherwise economically inactive or a family member of someone who meets those criteria (family member can include spouse or partner). You will need to provide proof of your status, for example recent payslips for employees.

People in the economically inactive category will need to show they meet the minimum income requirements - click here for more details on those - and also that they have health over. This can be either private health insurance or being registered within the French health system. If you are registered in the French system and have a carte vitale you do not need any extra cover such as a mutuelle (although it is a good idea if you can, in order to avoid unexpected health costs).

If your application is successful you will be given a 5-year carte de séjour, which you can then exchange for a carte de séjour permenant in five years' time, provided you are still legally resident in France.

If you applied using the no-deal Brexit website - this probably won't affect many people, but back in the autumn of 2019 - when a no-deal Brexit loomed - the French government briefly went live with a online carte de séjour application site. People who used this do not need to make a new application, their application will be transferred automatically onto the new system - you should have received an email at the start of the year telling you that your application will be transferred.

"If you are a British citizen or a family member of a British citizen and you have already applied for a residence permit on the no-deal Brexit website, you do not need to make another online application," said the French government.

"Your application has been taken into account and will be processed by the local préfecture before the obligation to hold a residence permit becomes enforceable."

If you have an application pending with your local préfecture - most local préfectures stopped accepting applications from British people from 2019 because of the uncertainty of the situation, but some still accepted applications. If yours is still pending then you will unfortunately have to go through the process again on the online portal - on the upside you will probably find this process more straightforward than the one demanded by the préfecture.

You have an application pending for French (or other EU) citizenship - if you are a French citizen or a citizen of another EU country you will not need a carte de séjour, you can live and work in France under freedom of movement. However depending on when you applied there is no guarantee that your new passport will arrive before June 30th 2021, which is the deadline to have made your application on the residency website.

The average time to process an application for French citizenship is 18 months to two years, although it varies from place to place. You have plenty of time, but bear in mind that once the June 30th 2021 deadline passes, just having an application in for citizenship is not enough to make you legally able to stay.

For a fuller breakdown on these categories, head to the France Rights website and to remind yourself of the Brexit process and what you need to do, head to our Preparing for Brexit section.

 

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Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

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Anonymous 2021/01/01 14:45
Does anyone have any idea what to do if I made a mistake on my application?<br />Somehow I have declared my first name twice - Nicholas Nicholas Smith, for example.<br />Help, anyone? Please?
Anonymous 2020/10/25 10:19
I have been resident in France since January 2019 and acquired a one year Titre de Sejour from my local Prefecture in Draguignan in April of that year. ( I was only given one year as I had no Carte vitale or private health insurance yet)<br /> My card ran out in April of this year in the middle of confinement and was I told to wait until the process was on line to renew it. It does appear that the online process is simple enough, but am stuck already at the first question where it asks if this is your first application for a Titre de Sejour or whether you have an application in process ( to which option you must provide a 'dossier' number which you would have received by email. I have had no such correspondence as it was all done at the prefecture)? People such as myself who have an expired Titre de Sejour do not seem to have their own category, - or have I missed something? Is there anyone else in my situation who has since found the solution? Any advice is very welcome as I am trying to be grown up and do this all by myself! Thank you in advance!
Anonymous 2020/10/20 03:03
How can anyone find anything so simple so difficult? All these modern computer things come with instructions.
Anonymous 2020/10/20 02:42
Chez Moi my dear thing. Either plug it in, or take it back to the shop for a refund.....
Anonymous 2020/10/19 17:30
To Nick et al. You're starting to sound like Boris, blaming everything on someone else. Don't knock the French. You wouldn't have to be jumping through these hoops if the Brits hadn't voted to leave the EU!
Anonymous 2020/10/19 11:42
http://invite.contacts-demarches.interieur.gouv.fr/BREXIT
Anonymous 2020/10/19 11:41
Here's the link but of course it's "blank" at the moment.
Anonymous 2020/10/19 11:39
Hey, come on now, it is France after all and a bit of leeway must be expected. Perhaps say next month.
Anonymous 2020/10/19 11:15
Where oh where is the link to the bloody website? Today is the nineteenth of October, and still no link.
Anonymous 2020/10/19 10:18
Chez Moi you beat me to it but I don't think it's up and running yet
Anonymous 2020/10/19 09:28
Where is the bloody link to the web site?????????
Anonymous 2020/10/14 19:06
As a new member, and also wishing to move/take up residence in France hopefully 2021,but possibly 2022,what is the sequence of documentation required, ie visa, residency permit, and is it possible to apply for residency permit before we actually move?<br />Reading the latest newsletter, I know, as pensioners, we qualify under the household income rule<br />Thx
Anonymous 2020/10/14 17:29
I’ve been married to a French lady for 22 years with two dual nationality kids. Have a home in France, which isn’t my primary residence, but was to be our primary in 5 years time, when I’m retired. Am I correct in assuming that I’ll only be allowed to stay in France for 180 days of the year? What are my options in keeping my family together?
Anonymous 2020/07/22 17:00
Could you please let me know which site I need to go on to swap my Titre de Séjour for a post-Brexit one ?

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